MLB trade deadline: Cubs pick up Willi Castro and Taylor Rogers, White Sox trade Adrian Houser
The Major League Baseball trade deadline struck at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The Cubs were hoping to land a top-notch starting pitcher, but that didn't happen. As to why a top-tier starting pitcher didn't come to be, it wasn't for lack of trying.
"Obviously, there were moves that we worked on that didn't come together, but ultimately, I'd say from a starting pitching standpoint, it was really tight market, I guess the way I would say it — very few rental starters, effectively no starters that had one year of control after this — and then the controllable starters, none of those guys changed hands," said Cubs President of Baseball Operations Ted Hoyer. "In the end, the asking price on those guys would have been so detrimental to our future that we obviously decided against it."
What did happen was that the Cubs acquired a lot of players to add depth. They acquired utility man Willi Castro from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor-league prospects.
Castro has spent time in several positions throughout a seven-year career. He has had a great year at the plate so far with 10 homers and 32 RBIs this season.
Castro, an impending free agent, gives the Cubs another option to play third base, or anywhere over the diamond.
The Cubs also agreed to a deal for left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers.
This was the second time Rogers has been traded this week, as he was sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Cincinnati Reds in a deal for Ke'Bryan Hayes.
Rogers, 34, has a 2.45 ERA and 1.46 WHIP with 34 strikeouts in 33 innings this season.
The return for the Pirates is High-A outfielder Ivan Brethowr, per The Athletic.
The Cubs also designated veteran Ryan Pressly for assignment.
The Cubs this week also obtained a pair of right-handed pitchers in Michael Soroka and Andrew Kittredge, who were acquired from the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles, respectively.
The 35-year-old Kittredge is a former All-Star, who has a 3.45 ERA in 31 games this season.
Soroka, who turns 28 next week, is an impending free agent who started 16 times for the Nationals. He compiled a 4.87 ERA (82 ERA+) and a 3.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Soroka played for the White Sox last year.
Speaking of the White Sox, they traded Adrian Houser to the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-handed pitcher, whom the Sox signed just this past May, has been having a great first season on the South Side — amassing a 198 ERA+ and a 2.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 11 starts.
House was expected to be moved. The White Sox are getting first baseman Curtis Mead from the Rays in exchange.
Pitching prospects Duncan Davitt and Benjamin Peoples are also headed to the Sox, according to ESPN.
And after so much chatter, it does not appear that outfielder Luis Robert Jr. is going anywhere. The centerfielder has been healthier lately and playing well, but General Manager Chris Getz opted not to make a deal.
While other teams were interested, the offers weren't what Getz wanted.
"I think it starts with Luis and how we feel about him. You look at what he's done in the last month, the month or so, and you know, he's impacting the game in so many different ways, which, you know, speaks to the talent that he has," Getz said. "We believe in Luis Robert. Other teams have identified him as a guy that could help their club, and there was an effort to acquire him, but certainly it wasn't to the level which we felt like kind of met them mark for us to move on from a talent like Luis Robert."